Ok people, I know what you're thinking

"what happened to that girl who's blog I once read? It was so witty and wonderful but then it stopped like a cold case file! Will I ever again get the chance to read her blog?"
Never fear. I have returned to the blog world.


I did in fact spend my summer in Montana and it was wonderful. I wish I could tell you about the whole thing but that might take more effort than me and my fingertips are willing to put forth. So here's some highlights for you

• Drove my first 4 wheeler
• Climbed a mountain. The hike they call Steeple is 2 hours up and 96% uphill, one part goes down because you have to jump over a stream. Then there's bouldering and actual rock climbing at the end! I got to see the camp from that far up and see the sun peek up over the mountain behind us. Absolutely breathtaking. Camp is 5,300 feet above sea level and Steeple is 7,800! 2,500 foot elevation climb in 2.1 miles (thanks to Mr. Chausse for the numerical data)
• Shot a gun! It was a .22 and then a semi auto .22 if that means anything to you. Apparently it's not that big of a deal in the gun world, but it counts in my world and I checked it off my bucket list. ps, I'm a great shot (for a beginner)
• Cleaned toilets
• Did a TON of laundry and hung it out to dry. I hope one day I live in a place where I can hang my laundry out to dry. 
• Served food to campers
• Ran industrial dishwashers
• Washed, shopped, and otherwise prepared veggies and other parts of meals during "kitchen prep"
• Am now capable of making enough Kool-Aid to keep 145 high schoolers happy
• Shared a bathroom with, worked with, and otherwise lived with 8 other high school girls. They were each amazing blessings to me and I miss them!

I did a ton of other stuff that I can't think of right now. It was amazing. It's so beautiful there. If you have never been to Montana and you like nature even a little bit as a vacation, you should go. The camp is in a valley and I looked around and thought "God could move these mountains"

That was really cool. Hearing the river at night before bed was really sweet. So camp was amazing. THEN I tried to get home. And if you are bored by stories easily, I suggest you scroll down and skip this section. I can laugh at it now but it was so not fun at the time.

So it's Saturday at camp and I am on laundry duty. We have So Much Laundry so we did what we could. The bell rings and it's time to say goodbye. Everybody is crying and hugging each other in this huge puddle of people. (*emotional moment 1) So that's a pretty decent way to start a travel day (NOT!) I had worked with these 50 staff people all summer and had grown so close to them. Saying goodbye was very difficult to say the least. If you have never worked on staff at a summer camp away from home, then you don't know what I am talking about. 

I get on a bus (*mode of transportation 1) with a few other kids to go to Billings, an actual city in Montana that's about 2 hours away from camp. In the parking lot, I say goodbye to the rest of the people on the bus. They were some of the people I got the closest to (*emotional moment 2) at camp and that was rough. Then I got in the car (*mode of transportation 2) of an operational staff couple who drove me to the airport. They just had their first baby this week (congrats!). I waited in line at the check in counter for like 30 minutes which is kind of redonk. There was 1 person checking in the 12 of us at the counter moving slow as molasses! I got through security without an issue and sat in the terminal for more than an hour (!) because the plane was coming from Chicago to Billings. It was late because of Chicago's weather so we were really late getting out of Billings going to Denver. So I get on the plane (*mode of transportation 3) and it's 2 seats, an aisle, and 2 seats.

I am on the window and Mr. Crazy sits down next to me. We didn't really talk at first but then as I was telling him about why I was in Montana and how beautiful it is, he starts talking about how he hears the mountains speaking to him.
(see the photo to the right that I took from Steeple. Maybe this mountain spoke to him?)


 Uh, what? Then he gets on about how America is the #1 richest country and the #50 healthiest country, how he went to church growing up and is now "spiritual but not religious", how cancer is a business and that they try and make money off you in your weakness, how your body has 7pH when you're born and 5pH when you die, how you are born 80% water and die about 65% water, how his wife is Jewish and they will let their boys decide what they want to be, how he had been away for a week and had drank the most he ever has in a week,  how his mother-in-law is on the plane also and it's her first flight, and other craziness like that. Woah. The man let me talk, and I tried to throw things in there that would say what I believe without offending him, but oh boy did he have a response for everything. He had 2 alcoholic drinks on the plane (they were screwdrivers and then I told my mom, she was like "how did he get that through security?" and I had to explain that's the name of a drink) and I've never seen someone get that on a plane. It was very uncomfortable and I prayed that I would say the right words to him but I felt very unprepared. I thought pH was stuff in your pool! He was a nut job and sounded very insecure about what he thought was true, like he had shoved it away so long that now it was coming up and he couldn't remember what he had taken a stand on long ago. 

That wasn't emotional per se but was stressful. Since I didn't sleep well that last night at camp, I had hoped to sleep on the plane. Yeah, that didn't happen. I got off the plane and knew it was going to be tight getting my flight to Chicago. So I bid Mr. Crazy goodbye and practically ran off the plane. I found a board with flights and realized my terminal to leave for Chicago out of the Denver airport I had jut pulled into was very far away. 

I began to run through the airport, backpack bouncing, face sweating, heart sinking. I found the gate and no one was there. I saw a man walking away from it in uniform and I said "Do you know where the B36 flight to Chicago is?" and he pointed out the window and said "that's it". Crap. "Thank you," I said, voice shaking. (*emotional moment 3). I get in line at a customer service desk and start to freak. It's the first time I had flown wholly alone and I missed my flight. Was it my fault? Had I done everything I could? I called my dad who tried to help me straighten it out. I called a friend from camp who's dad works in the Chicago airport to see if he could tell me about a connecting flight I might catch. After 8 people in front of me in line were helped, I stepped up to the counter and said "I missed my flight to Chicago" (*emotional moment 4) and could not keep my voice steady. The woman behind the counter just stared at me, my eyes welling up. Crap, I really did not want to cry right now. She's checking stuff on the computer and the whole time I'm trying to tell myself to full it together. She finally tells me there's nothing going to Chicago tonight, not even the Las Vegas to Chicago was available. She hands me a voucher with a number to call for a hotel room and a free shuttle to that hotel. 

I was stuck. 

I stepped away from the counter, found a terminal, plopped down, called my dad, and bawled. (*emotional moment 5)

I was scared. I was alone. I didn't know whether to stay in the airport or find a hotel room. I had never stayed in a hotel alone. Did I mention I was scared? So I call this number after my dad calmed me down (or tried, it was mission impossible at this point) and booked myself a room through an automated service. I wrote down my confirmation number with an eyeliner pencil I fished out of my bag after the call. I got back in the customer service line to ask where my bags were (a question my dad suggested I ask) and the woman called someone up to get me to the shuttle because her directions sucked. 

15 minutes later, a man barely speaking English walks me down an escalator to one of those indoor trams and tried his best to explain where to go after I got off. I step into the closest car (*mode of transportation 4) and it's full of strange men. There's about 8 of them and I am the only female. I put on my "seriously right now, do NOT mess with me face" (it could freeze you in your tracks, beware) the best I could, but I was so emotionally raw at this point it probably looked more like "I might emotionally explode all over you if you come near me" which was also effective. (*emotional moment 6) God totally protected me. I get off the tram, up some stairs, and see a shuttle counter. I stop for more directions and the man there explains that there are 2 different locations of the hotel that I booked my reservation at and that it's important I know which one. I had no idea which one I booked! Crap. (*emotional moment 7)

I walk across a few lanes of traffic and stare at the shuttles. None are labeled with the hotel I booked at. (*emotional moment 8) I call my dad and he says just to be patient, it will come. A shuttle finally shows and before I get on, I ask the driver if it's the one I want and another woman asks if I called that number because she did and she thinks this is it (*emotional moment 9). Wow. I felt so comforted by her. Maybe it was because she vaguely reminded me of my mom but that one moment of face to face reassurance really boosted my confidence.


So I get on this shuttle (*mode of transportation 5) and I think "I don't have deodorant. Or a toothbrush. Or toothpaste. Or new underwear". So a note to all you who have read for this long, your carry on is an overnight bag in case you get stuck OverNight. I fell asleep for a few minutes on the supposedly 20 minute shuttle ride that ended up taking 30. I could not even tell you what time it was when I got into the hotel because all that mattered was laying down. I had not eaten anything since Super early Saturday breakfast at like 7:00 Am. I get up to the front desk and as I am explaining that I need a room and I think I need a reservation, the clerk looks at me and says "Would you like a chocolate chip cookie?" (*emotional moment 10)
I choked out a "yes please" and took it. How sweet! Apparently it's a hospitality this hotel chain has going, and I loved it. I was able to get deodorant, toothbrush, and toothpaste. I took an elevator to my room, and realized I had no pajamas but ALAS! I had another t-shirt I had grabbed from the miscellaneous pile (see right for the t-shirt that most strongly reminds me that God is good)! I showered, washed my underwear with a bar of soap in the sink (TMI? Even so, it reminds you why you should definitely bring an extra pair!) blow dried them, and went to bed! It was at least midnight.


Because my flight the next morning was at 5:30 (maybe? around then), I had to take the first shuttle out of the hotel at 4:30. The hotel called at 3:45 to wake me up and I fell back asleep. My dad told me he would call and I am so grateful he did!
I got the shuttle and got through the security without any issues. On the other side of security, I got a bagel and a smoothie- it had been almost 24 hours of high stress with nothing to eat. It was my fault for not grabbing lunch int he Billings Airport. 


The rest of the story is not exciting. I got my flight to Chicago, met up with my parents, and didn't have to search for my luggage- the bags were coming around just when we walked out.


I was safe. God is good. He always has been and He always will be.